The wondering son
by MistyQueHarper
Summary: Another Gajeel x Levy AU story, inspired by a review from BlackLothus. A fic where she protects him. Rated M for future violent scenes and some potty mouth a-la Gajeel. Credit: The genius Mashima made Fairy Tail happen! Give him the love he deserves.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: I got this idea from one of my many wonderful readers, **BlackLothus**. She commented on my **Going to college** fic, and I quote:_

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_(...)  
Although sometimes I like to see him getting her out of trouble. o3o   
I guess it should be reciprocal, you know xD If I ever get on a relashionship, I want to protect my boyfriend too. I don't like being a damsel on distress(Not all the time, at least xD). But I think the thing I like the most about headcanons with Gajeel's behavior around Levy is him being all protective when she is sick or has a nightmare x3 (...)  
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_And BAM! my brain was overflown with images. And I had to write them down, obviously. _

_So, thank you **BlackLothus** for being my reader, for reviewing and forr all the wonderful words! I thank you all, ALL OF MY READERS! With or without review, I still get tens of thousands of views! And it warms my heart!  
_

_I've started translating **The Dragon Tamer** from English to Spanish. And what I've found is that... IT TAKES A WHOLE FUCKING LOT OF TIME! goddang my brain for only thinking in English and Japanese... T_T_

___By the way, I'd love to see a review/comment in your native language! (Of course, please consider the writer, as well, since I only know 4 languages: Romanian, English, Spanish and Japanese, so add a translation, as well, if you guys happen to not be a speaker of those 4 languages)_

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**CHAPTER 1:___  
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_Four high school kids were advancing on him. He swore under his breath, bracing for the beating he knew he was gonna get. Heck, it was worth it. No one was allowed to insult his little blue head while he still had strength to stand. He managed to hit hard one of the older boys with his slingshot, but it wasn't hard enough to knock him out completely. That's why the older kid called his friends. And he was gonna get it bad this time._

_He closed his eyes for a moment, bracing for the first punch, when a surprised yell made him snap his eyes open just in time to see one of the four get thrown into another boy._

"_Why don't you pick on someone your own size, punks?" A wide smile spread on his face seeing the cheeky grin his bluenette had plastered all over her face. _

"_Shit… She came!" One of the boys that were still standing trembled in fear. After all, she was known all over town. Her reputation preceded her father's, even though her old man was a martial arts master. _

"_Why doesn't it surprise me to find you in this situation again?" The blue haired girl addressed the one whom she just saved after swiftly throwing the two remaining wanna-be thugs into a dumpster._

"_They were talking shit about you!" The little boy complained outrageous._

"_You know I don't care about what they say. Why do you?"_

"_Because! It's not fair! And I can't stand them calling you names in front of me!"_

"_You should've learned by now how to pick your fights. It's not smart to throw yourself head-on every time. You could've gotten really hurt!"_

"_I know… I know… I'm sorry… AAARGH! It's so frustrating I can't get stronger!"_

"_You will if you keep practicing. Come on, stop crying like a baby and let's go home, Gajeel." He sniffed angrily, taking her extended hand._

"_Thanks… Hey, Levy…"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_I'm gonna get stronger. Just so I can protect you for once." Gajeel squeezed her hand, looking fierce in her hazel eyes._

"_As long as you're by my side, you don't need to protect me." Levy smiled warmly, stopping suddenly to hug him tightly and give him a quick peck on the cheek. Gajeel blushed furiously, stuttering as Levy grabbed his hand one more time and tugged him along, back to the dojo._

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Gajeel walked through the wooden doors of the dojo like he'd never left, remembering one of his favorite moments. He spotted Levy with a group of kids, seeing she was with her back to him, teaching the kids how to punch. He leaned on the door frame, smiling warmly. Levy was concentrated on her work, now showing the kids how to spin and dodge an attack. That's when she noticed a relaxed Gajeel leaning silently on the frame.

"Gajeel! You came back!" She beamed, running to him and jumping in his arms.

"Wow, there, Shorty!" He caught her swiftly, spinning with her in his arms. As soon as Gajeel released Levy, she punched him in the gut.

"Who're you callin' Shorty?" She pouted angrily, Gajeel laughing slightly.

"'pparantly you. When'd you grow so short? I mean, heck, I've been gone for only five years and gravity took its toll on you." A vein twitched on Levy's forehead, punching him swiftly in the liver and the head, a small bump already forming. "OOOUCH! DAMN IT, LEVY!"

"Tommy, take over!" She passed Gajeel without looking at him, stomping away. The raven haired man grabbed his back pack and hurried to her.

"You didn't have to be so rough, ya know!"

"Well, YOU didn't have to be an asshole, but you still opened your mouth."

"Come on, don't be like that! I was only joking!" Levy spun around trying to face him with her angry scowl, but she barely reached his shoulder. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, okay?" She kept her scowl in place for a long moment, Gajeel holding his breath.

"What did you eat while you were gone? You're like a monster, all bulky and stuff. How tall are you? 6'2''?"

"6'4'', actually. And you? Minus 3?" He snickered again, enjoying Levy's angry face.

"UGH! I can't believe you!" She turned to leave, but Gajeel wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in a tight hug.

"Sorry, I can't help it. You were taller than me when I left…" He looked deeply into her eyes, stopping her struggle when Gajeel placed his head on her shoulder, inhaling deeply under her ear. "God, I've missed you…" Levy blushed furiously, a new sensation fluttering in her belly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the hug, staying like that for a long moment.

"We've missed you too…"

"_We?_ Oh… shit… I have to face him, too…"

"Well, you DID leave without so much of a good-bye… What the heck, you could've sent a post card or something, let us know you're alive!" Levy led him through the dojo towards the Master's room.

"I was… away from any kind of communication…" Gajeel followed her without struggle.

"Where?" They reached the wooden doors, Levy kneeling down when the young man next to her didn't answer. Gajeel followed her move, sighing heavily as the bluenette knocked twice. "Father? We have a visitor. May we come in?"

"You may enter." A rough voice could be heard behind the sliding wooden doors. Levy slid the open and bowed respectfully, Gajeel doing the same.

"Father…" Gajeel addressed the raven haired man without lifting his head.

"Gajeel. Never expected to see you again." Levy went to her father's side, kneeling down as Gajeel kept quiet. "Apparently we weren't worthy enough for an explanation."

"Father…" Levy started, but the man silenced her.

"Stay out of this!" His rough voice boomed through the room, the bluenette looking away.

"Metalicanna…" Gajeel spoke, but the man continued.

"I thought I taught you better. I thought I taught you respect. It was the least you should've felt when you left without as much as a _'thank you for taking me out of the streets'._ Do you have any idea what you did to Levy when you left like that?"

"F… Father!" Levy blushed furiously, but Metalicanna cut her.

"Do you have any idea what you did to _me_?" He stopped, waiting for an answer, Gajeel raising his head to look at his foster father in the eyes.

"Will it help if I say I'm sorry?"

"No." Gajeel pursed his lips, feeling a lump choke him. "I raised you as my own. I cared for you as my own. And this is what I deserve?"

"You deserve much more than I could've given you if I stayed! That's why I left! Please, let me finish!" Metalicanna was about to reply, but stopped when he saw the fierce look in his red eyes. "I left so I could become stronger. So I could learn new things and bring back the knowledge."

"Oh? So I wasn't good enough for you… I see…"

"_NO_! That's not what I meant! You are too good! And Levy is, too! That's why I could have never surpassed you two if I stayed!"

"You say you learned new things… Show me." Gajeel was taken aback, looking incredulous.

"I… I couldn't…"

"Then get out. You don't deserve this family."

"Father, please!" Levy placed her hand on his arm, but Metalicanna pulled it away.

"He threw away his right to be in this family when he deserted you." Gajeel's anger was bubbling up. It was one thing to treat him like that, but Levy, on the other hand… So he stood up defiantly, taking an offensive stance. Metalicanna turned to see what the shifting noise was, snickering when he saw Gajeel stand. "Hoo…? Interesting kamae… Let's see if you have it in you, _kozo_."

**TBC**

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******_How about it? Did you liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Please review, your opinion matters to me as a writer._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note:** I wrote this listening to **Halestorm - Love Bites** and **Brand x Music - All or nothing** (gosh, there's a Fairy Tail trailer that has this melody gives me goosebumps every time...)_

_**Sketcher1994** , I'm trying to write some action, too. Hope I'm not failing :P_

_**kamiccolo's rose** , I was fearing this wouldn't catch to the public XD_

So, thank you all for reading it!

___By the way, I'd love to see a review/comment in your native language! (Of course, please consider the writer, as well, since I only know 4 languages: Romanian, English, Spanish and Japanese, so add a translation, as well, if you guys happen to not be a speaker of those 4 languages)_

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**Chapter 2:**

Levy retreated herself in a corner of the room as Gajeel raised himself and took a defensive stance. Metalicanna did the same, his eyes locked on Gajeel's moves. He motioned for Gajeel to attack, taking him by surprise. After all, Gajeel expected Metalicanna to attack first. Nonetheless, he took advantage of this opportunity, lunging himself to his foster father with a concentrated look in his eyes. He directed two swift punches to Metalicanna's face, but the master easily dodged them. Gajeel continued with a knee to the spleen and a rounded kick to his head, again his foster parent dodging every attack. They stopped for a moment, Gajeel huffing heavily.

Metalicanna suddenly attacked, almost touching Gajeel, but he dodged the kick just in time, backing away as the raven haired man attacked with lightning-fast moves. Gajeel parried a punch, but was too slow for the knee in the stomach, getting thrown over the room. He coughed a couple of times, catching his breath. Gajeel looked at Metalicanna as he was smiling superior a couple of yards in front of him, so he got up, dusted himself and took an offensive stance seconds before he changed his fighting style.

Metalicanna was backing away as Gajeel tried to land a kick. For a moment the master was taken aback by Gajeel's speed and fighting style, but quickly composed himself and started parrying every hit Gajeel send his way. A couple of punches later and Metalicanna landed an uppercut, sending a stunned Gajeel flying. He took a defensive stance, waiting for Gajeel to get up, but he didn't.

"Is this why you left? To get weaker? Pathetic. Now get ou…" Gajeel started laughing weakly, raising himself with difficulty.

"Finally… I got ya."

"You lost, Gajeel."

"Can't argue with that. But I got ya." Metalicanna looked at him like he was losing his mind, but then his eyes popped open. Gajeel raised his left hand and let Metalicanna's black belt dangle in front of him. The master looked at his pants and gasped loudly. His belt was gone. And Gajeel was holding it. Levy came quietly behind her father, looking shocked at Gajeel, who was laughing like a maniac, wiping his bloody lip. Metalicanna was thinking hard. He tried to replay the whole scene, but he couldn't remember feeling Gajeel put his fingers around the dark fabric, let alone yank it from his waist. What was more amazing was the fact that Metalicanna usually knotted his belt three times and placed the ends under the brim of his pants. So Gajeel must have touched him at least five times before he actually got the belt off. He spun around on his heels and headed for the door.

"You can have Levy's old room. We use it for storage now, though." Metalicanna said with his back at the two youngsters, taking his leave. Levy stared at the door for a long moment before snapping her amazed gaze to Gajeel. He was wrapping the belt around his knuckles and tried to stand up, but Levy hurried to him, extending an arm to help him up.

"Thanks…" He grabbed a hold on her arm and got back on his feet with a wide grin.

"You were… amazing!" She breathed, still staring at him. Gajeel blushed, scratching the back of his head. "You… I can't believe… Father's…" She started stuttering, but Gajeel placed his hand of her shoulder, stopping whatever words she was about to utter.

"Wow there, shrimp. Take a deep breath and calm down."

"You're bleeding." Levy said suddenly, noticing his bloody lip.

"It's noth…" Levy grabbed his hand and dragged him out the door, hurrying to the bathroom. "Really, Levy, I'm fine." His ears were turning red, but he let her pull him along. Levy shoved Gajeel inside the huge room and threw him on a bench, then went to the first-aid kit. He was about to protest again, but Levy shushed him.

"Shove it." She pulled some disinfectant and a bandage, Gajeel hissing when she placed the soaking bandage on his lip, but quickly stopped his swearing when he noticed Levy getting closer to his mouth to blow on the stinging wound.

"You were amazing back there…" She said suddenly, breaking the heavy silence, continuing to tap the wound and blow on it softly.

"Yeah… Thanks…" He was staring. He knew it, but he couldn't look away from her eyes.

"You're gonna teach me some moves, right?" She suddenly looked deeply in his red eyes, activating an embarrassing blush on Gajeel's cheeks. His breath stopped altogether as he drowned in her hazel eyes. Without thinking, he leaned closer, surprising Levy when he took a hold of her mouth with his, kissing her for a long moment. He brushed the tip of his tongue between Levy's lips, a current going through Levy's body as she closed her eyes and parted her lips to meet his demanding tongue. He deepened the kiss fiercely, Levy snaking her hands in his black mane. That's when he snapped his eyes open and suddenly stood up.

"Shit! I'm sorry! I didn't… I'm sorry!" He backed away from a hurt looking Levy, turning his back to her and looking at his shaking hands.

"What just happened?" The wheels started clicking inside Levy's fuzzy brain, a scorching blush coloring her cheeks. "Oh, my… I… Uhm…" She couldn't utter a coherent word, so she grabbed the stitches and shoved them under his nose, leaving quickly.

"Shit… What have I done…?" He whispered heavily, staring at the stitches from his hand. He looked at himself in the mirror, noticing the nasty cut, and placed two sticky stitches after he disinfected the cut. After this, he went to find his pack and headed for Levy's old room, finding it easily. He groaned when he opened the sliding door, realizing just now what his foster father said. _We use it for storage now._

"Well, better start cleaning the place if I wanna sleep tonight." Gajeel grabbed a couple of mops and brooms, searching for another deposit room. It was already the middle of the night when he finally cleared the room, lying down on his sleeping bag without having any dinner. He didn't want to see anyone at the moment, fearing of Levy's reaction and Metalicanna's scowl. After all, the runt of the family managed to touch the master of the dojo. So he closed his eyes and let himself drift to sleep.

**TBC**

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******_How about it? Did you liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Please review, your opinion matters to me as a writer._**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's note**: Well, this wraps it up. Sorry for the long wait, I'm in a blank period... The author in me is hiding somewhere and I can't find it... The good news is that I've done some sketches as a preview for this fic, will be uploading them in a few days on DevArt. _

_**Sketcher1994** and **Freshie95** , thank you so much! I'm humbled by your kind words!_

_**Thank you for the infinite patience, my Misty~es! Lots of love from yours truly, MistyQue!**_

_By the way, I'd love to see a review/comment in your native language! (Of course, please consider the writer, as well, since I only know 4 languages: Romanian, English, Spanish and Japanese, so add a translation, as well, if you guys happen to not be a speaker of those 4 languages)_

_**EDIT**: for those of you leaving reviews, please, leave a name, as well, or a link (make sure it's in this format **www . site you want me to see . com** because FanFiction dot net doesn't allow pasted links in the site, you can only add links in profiles)  
_

_**EDIT 2:** Thank you for the support and for giving me ideas to continue this! I'm having some trouble finding inspiration, but your reviews helped me a lot! So this will be on going for the moment! _

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**CHAPTER 3:**

The next morning, Levy was heading to her old room, where Gajeel spent the night. She was holding a filled tray and was humming happily when she reached the slide door, knocking softly.

"Gajeel, are you awake? I brought some breakfast for you." She waited a few moments before she tried again. "Gajeel?" She slid the door open a little to peek inside before opening the door. The bed was already packed neatly and the room was spotless, Levy whistling in admiration. "Wow… Haven't seen this room so clean in ages!" Levy turned back to the kitchen to put Gajeel's breakfast away, passing next to the training area in the garden. A few punch noises got her attention, Levy glancing towards the sound. She stopped suddenly and hid behind a wooden pole, peeking at a concentrated looking Gajeel. Levy's face burst when she noticed he was topless, using a hay dummy to practice, swiftly kicking and punching the dummy.

"Damn, he's been working out…" She breathed impressed, taking in his well toned body. A few seconds of admiration later and Levy stepped out from her hiding place, walking calmly towards the raven haired young man. Gajeel stopped when he heard footsteps, his cheeks reddening when he saw who was walking calmly towards him. He hurried to his towel, grabbed it and wiped himself before putting his t-shirt on.

"Morning!" Levy said cheerfully, getting closer.

"Y… Morning…" Gajeel said with his back on her, avoiding her eyes.

"Brought you some breakfast." Levy shoved the tray under his nose cheerily.

"I already ate, thanks…" He turned on his heels, grabbing his stuff and walking away from Levy. "Sorry, I… have some stuff to do… Father said to clean the dojo." With that, he left quickly, letting Levy stare after him.

"Okay… That was weird…" Levy shrugged and turned back to the kitchen, then continued her day. When the classes finally ended and Levy saw off her last pupil, she went to her room to take a shower before dinner. She let the water run down her spine, letting herself relax. Half an hour later, she got out, wrapped a towel around her body after wiping her hair and got out of the shower in search of her hair dryer. Levy was combing through her hair with her fingers when the door opened suddenly. Gajeel stopped dead in his track when he saw the oblivious bluenette wearing only a towel. His breath stopped as his cheeks reddened, watching Levy comb through her hair with one hand and waving the hair dryer with the other. After a long moment of sizing her up, he cleared his throat.

"Uhm…" Levy turned her eyes from the mirror, noticing a very uncomfortable Gajeel in the doorframe.

"Hi!" She yelled over the sound of the hair dryer, returning her eyes to the mirror as she continued drying her hair. Gajeel reluctantly stepped inside the bathroom, closing the door behind him. "I'm almost finished, can you wait a sec?" Levy asked, watching him in the mirror.

"Yeah, sure…" Gajeel scratched his head, unable to stop his eyes from darting to her plump behind or his ears from reddening. Once Levy was finished, she placed the dryer back and turned to her adoptive brother.

"Dinner will be ready soon, don't stay too long, 'kay?" She waved and got out, letting Gajeel alone.

Half an hour later, Levy and Metalicanna were having dinner, Gajeel passing the room in a hurry.

"Good evening." He said in a low voice as he passed them, Metalicanna stopping him.

"Did you have dinner yet?"

"Not yet, Father, but I'm not hungry right now, thank you." Gajeel bowed respectfully, not looking at Levy.

"Don't starve yourself, I need you in top shape tomorrow."

"Yes, Father, thank you for your concern. May I be excused?"

"Yes."

"Have a good night, then." He bowed again before turning on his heels and going to his room.

"He's acting a bit… strange, wouldn't you say?" Metalicanna asked his daughter, popping another sushi roll in his mouth. "Did something happen?" Levy swallowed without chewing, choking a bit.

"I don't know, I've been busy with the children…" She tried to control herself, smiling as natural as she could, even though the memory of Gajeel kissing her was still fresh in her mind. The master gave her a strange look, but didn't press the matter. Thus another day passed.

The next morning, Levy tried to surprise Gajeel again, waking up before everyone else to prepare breakfast. She got a tray ready and headed for her brother's room with a smile. Levy stopped in fromt of the doors, listening intently for some movement. Sure enough, Gajeel was awake, so she slid the door open in a swift move, yelling a 'GOOD MORNING!' just as the raven haired man was taking his t-shirt off. He stuttered incoherently for a moment, fumbling with his shirt to cover himself up.

"Sheesh, Gajeel, when did you become so shy?" Levy entered the room with a wide smile on her face, putting aside Gajeel's breakfast.

"Ain't shy… You just surprised me, 's all…" He kept his back to the bluenette as he changed.

"Made you breakfast. And, by the way, I already saw you topless countless times, silly." Levy popped her head under his arm, activating a blush. Gajeel fumbled with his shirt, covering himself fast and turning away from Levy.

"Yeah, thanks… I'm gonna eat later…" He wrapped his bed quickly and placed it aside before storming out of the room, leaving a dumbstruck Levy stare after him.

"That was rude…" She folded her arms and glared after Gajeel, returning to her own room a few seconds after.

Levy tried again at lunch to start a conversation with her step brother, Gajeel finding another excuse to leave her presence as soon as she came into the room. She was getting angry now, but decided to give him some space. So a week passed, Gajeel doing everything in his power to avoid Levy.

One night, after shower, Levy caught Gajeel in the training room, trying to tie his hair in a ponytail. That's when she burst.

"Gajeel, this is ridiculous!" Levy startled him. He looked questioningly at the bluenette, who was standing in the door frame with an annoyed look on her face.

"What did I do?" He turned to her, clearly confused, when Levy snorted.

"Are you kidding me? You've been avoiding me for the past week!"

"What? I'm not avoiding you!"

"Really? Then why do you make yourself scarce whenever I come to greet you or whatever?"

"Because… Father has given me a lot of work… You know, redeeming myself fo…"

"Cut the crap, Gajeel, I already talked to Father and he's really proud of you. And you wanna know why? Because he didn't ask anything of you, he told me you took it upon yourself to do all of this! I know you're lying to me and I wanna know why!" Gajeel cringed as Levy approached him with a killer scowl.

"I'm not lyi…"

"LIAR!" She shoved a finger under his nose. "You just got back from wherever God knows you've been for the past five years and now you don't wanna talk to me or be around me! You don't even say 'Hi' or 'Good morning'!" She crossed her arms, turning away from him.

"Hi…" He tried lighting her spirits, but Levy turned her back on him, feeling her eyes sting.

"Am I such a bad kisser you don't wanna be around me anymore?" She escaped a few tears as Gajeel gasped, feeling his cheeks burn. "You're such an idiot!" Levy motioned to leave, but Gajeel grabbed her arm, making her turn to him.

"No, wait! You're not… a bad kisser… It's just… Father raised me as his own… And you became my family…" Her tears made something twist painfully inside him. He combed through his hair, pulling on some locks. "What do you want me to say, Levy? I was raised as your brother but I feel… for you… Shit…" He turned away from her, not finding his words. "I'm confused, okay? All my life you've been like a sister to me, but I've never loved you as one. It's much more and I don't know what to do…" Levy was very quiet, listening to Gajeel trying to confess.

"If it helps, I've never seen you as a flesh brother…" She said in a small voice, looking away to hide her reddened cheeks.

"What?" Gajeel spun around to stare at the bluenette with wide eyes.

"I liked it! Okay? I liked it! I always hoped for it! I dreamed of it! I dreamed of you coming back to me!" She huffed, looking intently at him.

"What are you saying…"

"I love you, you idiot!" She jumped on his neck, knotting her hands behind his head and lunging for his lips. Gajeel stared for a long moment with his eyes wide open as Levy was kissing him with passion. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her in place as he returned the kiss with lip bruising force. Levy tumbled him on the floor, both of them falling on the wooden tatami with a thud, not releasing each other. Gajeel let the bluenette mount him as she ravaged his mouth, grabbing a fistful of jet black hair and pulling hard. He snaked his arms on her back, pressing his fingers between her shoulder blades to keep her in place and using his other hand to comb through her blue hair.

"Mattaku… Stupid children…" Metalicanna whispered under his breath, smiling fondly as he watched from behind the corner as her daughter jumped on Gajeel's neck and kissed him fiercely. "Better late than never." He turned around and left the two lovebirds alone, already imagining the next generation running wild through the dojo.

**TBC  
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******_How about it? Did you liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Please review, your opinion matters to me as a writer._**


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